Car coupler operating device



Feb. l1, 1947. v. E. sls'soN CAR COUPLER OPERATING DEVICEl Filed sept. :29,J 1944 IN V EN TOR.

Patented Feb. l1, 1947 een ocurran OPERATING nevica Vinton E. Sisson, Chicago, Ill., assigner to Standard Railway Equipment Manufacturing Company, Chicago, lill., a corporation of Delaware Application September 29, 1944, Serial No. 556,306

(Cl. 21S-16.6)

- 4' Claims.

This invention relates to improvements in railway car coupler operating mechanisms, and particularly to means to prevent the coupler from being operated accidentally during service moven ments of coupled cars, The principal object ci the invention is to so form the connecting end of the rod with the lock lifter so that said end of the rod may reciprocate therein without raising the lifter, but that rotation of the rod will rotate said lifter and thereby unlock the coupler.

Other objects and advantages of the invention will appear in the following description oi the invention.

Referring now to the accompanying drawing forming part of this application and wherein like reference characters indicate like parts.

In the drawing:

Figure 1 is an elevational View showing the uncoupling rod supported adjacent its handle end in a bracket and connected at its inner end to the lock lifter of a coupler.

Figure 2 is an end elevation of Figure 1, fragmentary portions of the coupler being shown.

Figure 3 is a perspective view of the improved lock lifter with the end of the operating rod connected thereto showing its reciprocal connection therewith.

In the drawing I represents an operating rod for an A. A. R, standard type E coupler, which rod is provided at its outer end with a handle portion 2 and at its inner end with a portion 3 which is bent over at substantially right angles to the body portion of the rod and which portion 3 extends through an eye 4 of the rotary lock lifter 5, pivotally connected at one end, as at 6, to the link 1, and at its opposite end swingably attached, as at 2i), to the coupler B, so that said lifter lifts the lock of the coupler 8 upon swinging of the lock lifter and thereby operates the coupler. Adjacent the handle portion 2 the rod is supported adjacent the side of a car in a bracket 9 which has a bearing portion il) for supporting a portion of the operating rod l. That portion of the rod which extends through the bearing Ill is longitudinally slidable therein to compensate for sidewise movement of the coupler, as for instance, when the train is rounding a curve or the like,

The bracket for the rod comprises a supporting plate ll which is provided with spaced holes through which rivets i2, or other attaching means, may secure said plate to a xed part of the car, as for example, the brace i3, This plate Il is bent at slightly more than a right angle so that it will extend substantially at right angles to the axis of rotation of the operating rod supported therein. A U-shaped opening i4 is formed in the portion lo of the bracket 9 and across the upper part of said opening is installed a pin l5 to hold the rod within said bearing and yet provide easy means for removal when necessary.

It is apparent that when operating cars over rough roadbed, low joints, etc., considerable jumping of the inner end of the operating rod might result, and, if the inner end of the rod were hooked to the lock lifter in the ordinary manner and the inner end of the rod jumped hard enough and high enough it might raise the lifter with it and thereby unlock the coupier. In so doing, however, the lifter would have to rotate anti-clockwise about ninety degrees through its normal arc upon its support and the rod would be correspondingly rotated,

Due to the length of the rod and the fact that the unbalancing weight of the inner end thereoi is supported solely by the lifter, it may be that inertia built up in the rod only might be suicient to raise the lifter and thereby operate the coupler. Therefore, I have shown an improved form of rod end for connection to the lifter. The rod end which is adapted for connection to the lifter is bent over into a straight end portion 3, at substantially right angles to the body portion of the rod, instead of a hooked end portion, as is common. Consequently, the inner end of the rod may jump independently of the lifter, but such movement of itself will not rotate the lifter. This type of connection allows the inner end of the rod to jump, harmlessly, and thereby dissipate its inertia without unlocking the coupler. The length of the end 3y is such that said inner end cannot jump entirely out of the eye d of the lifter, as it will contact the bottom of the coupler before it is completely out of the eye 4.

To apply the operating rod to the lifter the handle end thereof is lowered so that the end e of the rod l may be directed toward and partially pass through the eye i when the handle end is raised allowing the end of the rod to completely pass through the eye The handle end is then made secure in its supporting bracket and in this position it is impossible to separate the end of the rod from the lifter. l

The accompanying drawing illustrates the preferred form of the invention, though it is to be understood that the invention is not limited to the exact details of construction shown and described, as it is obvious that various modications thereof, within the scope of the claims. will occur to persons skilled in the art.

I claim:

1. An operating rod for operating a rotatable lock lifter of a car coupler mechanism, said lifter having an eye for receiving said rod, said operating rod having one end thereof shaped for operative attachment to and support by said lifter through said eye so that rotation of said rod rotates said lifter and said end of said rod may move upwardly a substantial distance vindependently of said lifter.

2. An operating rod for operating a rotatable lock lifter of a car coupler mechanism, said operating rod having one end thereof shaped for operative attachment to and support by said lifter so that rotation of said rod rotates said lifter and said end of said rod may move upwardly a substantial distance independently of said lifter.

3. An operating rod for operating a rotatable lock lifter of a car coupler mechanism, said operating rod having one end thereof shaped for substantial upward reciprocable operative attachment to and support by said lifter and so that rotation of said rod rotates said lifter.

4. An operating rod for operating a rotatable lock lifter of a car coupler mechanism, said operating rod having one end thereof shaped for substantial upward reciprocable operative attachment to and support by said lifter and so that rotation of said rod rotates said lifter, said shaped end of said rod being greater in length than the possible upward reciprocation thereof so that said end cannot accidentally become detached from said lifter.

V'INTON E. SISSON.

REFERENCES CITED The following references are of record in the le of this patent:

UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,216,507 Wolfe Oct. 1, 1940 1,614,654 Coffey Jan. 18, 1927 

